Best Comparative Politics Textbooks

Why do countries have different institutions and forms of government? Why do some social revolutions succeed and endure while others fail? Why are some societies subjected to terrorism and not others? An engaging and accessible introduction to the subject, Comparative Politics: Integrating Theories, Methods, and Cases, Second Edition, gives students the methodological tools they need to answer the "big questions" in the field. The authors introduce methods early in the text and integrate them throughout in order to help students develop a systematic way of thinking about comparative politics.

Debuting in its first edition and driven by a question-based approach, Comparative Politics shows readers how to do real comparative analysis while introducing them to political institutions, identities, and interests. This thematic survey uniquely balances the how–analytical knowledge–and the what–descriptive knowledge–to help readers make their own political arguments and to thus be more critically informed and engaged political participants.

Essentials of Comparative Politics provides clear, concise coverage of comparative politics. The Sixth Edition has been updated to apply core concepts to current events such as Brexit and the role of groups like ISIS.

Principles of Comparative Politics gives students meaningful insight into how cross-national comparison is actually conducted, and why it matters: the enduring questions that scholars grapple with, the issues about which consensus has started to emerge, and the tools comparativists use to get at the complex and interesting problems at the heart of the field. Beginning with a clear and straightforward discussion of the comparative and scientific methods, each chapter outlines the debates about the political phenomena that drive current research, such as state failure, the economic and cultural determinants of democracy, or the effects of regime type and electoral system. The authors show students how comparativists construct and test theories, applying the principles of the scientific method and simple game theory to a wide variety of examples and cases.

Understanding the Political World gives readers deeper insight into the continually evolving nature of international politics. Presenting key concepts, relevant research findings, and detailed explanations, the Twelfth Edition offers readers a path to understanding the challenges of politics and political differences. The text explores the subject matter from a comprehensive and comparative standpoint, using real examples from different international political systems to demonstrate how politics are understood throughout the world. By directly questioning readers to understand and explain what they know, Understanding the Political World brings an abstract subject into focus by relating it to readers’ opinions and lives. Through real examples of political institutions and processes, readers can better understand the nature of global politics.

Long established as the leading text in the field, the new edition has been comprehensively updated and rewritten. Accessible, student-friendly and truly international in its coverage, this edition includes more on authoritarian states as well as a much wider variety of country studies more generally.

Updated to reflect today's political climate, the seventh edition of Introduction to Comparative Politics offers a country-by-country approach that allows students to fully examine similarities and differences among countries and within and between political systems. Each chapter offers an analysis of political challenges and changing agendas within countries and provides detailed descriptions and analyses of the politics of individual countries. The text offers a condensed narrative and student-friendly pedagogy, such as marginal key terms and questions that will help them make meaningful connections and comparisons about the countries presented. This edition consists of 13 country case studies, as well as a case study on the European Union, providing an interesting sample of political regimes, levels of economic development, and geographic regions.

Examine the Elements of a “Good Society”

The Good Society: An Introduction to Comparative Politics takes a comprehensive look at the question: Why are some governments better than others? Exploring issues related to why certain political institutions provide a better quality of life for their citizens, readers can learn not only how different political systems work, but how they can work better. Redefining the common case-study and thematic approaches used in other courses on the subject, The Good Society approaches comparative politics in a relevant and meaningful way that helps readers understand the way different governments function.